Apparatus for handling a film-type cover strip on a packing material web for a packaging container

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a device ( 10 ) for handling a film-like cover strip ( 1 ) on a packaging material web ( 2 ) for a packaging container, comprising a first device ( 20 ) for forming a through-hole in the packaging material web ( 2 ), a second device ( 25 ) for separating one section of the cover strip ( 1 ) and a third device ( 40 ) for joining the separated sections of the cover strip ( 1 ) to the packaging material web ( 2 ) in the region of the through-hole. The section of the separated cover strip ( 1 ) covers the throughole. According to the invention, said three devices ( 20, 25, 40 ) are arranged on a common station ( 13 ) which comprises a frame ( 11 ) on which the position of at least one of the three devices ( 20, 25, 40 ) can be altered with respect to the packaging material web ( 2 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an apparatus for handling a film-type cover strip on a packing material web for a packaging container.

An apparatus is already known from practice and serves to prepare the area of a packing material web where a pouring opening made of plastic is applied after the web has been shaped into a packaging container, for example into a tubular bag. For this purpose, it is essential that the relevant area of the packing material web, made of a relatively tough and elastic material, is deliberately weakened for the pouring opening. To do this, a round hole, for example, is in practice punched in the packing material web, and a cover strip is then applied directly to the punched hole on the side forming the inside of the subsequent packaging container. The cover strip is applied, for example, by means of a heat-sealing apparatus with which the cover strip, completely covering the hole, is sealed tightly onto the packing material web. The cover strip ensures at all times identical welding conditions for the application of the pouring opening, regardless of the nature of the material used for the packing material web. Moreover, before the packaging container is opened by means of the pouring opening, the cover strip produces a sealed package in which the entry of germs or the like into the interior of the package is avoided, such that a packaging container designed in this way is suitable for aseptic purposes. To open an aseptic package of this kind, the pouring opening has in particular tooth-shaped cutting projections which, when the lid of the pouring opening is unscrewed, cut through the film-type cover strip and thus allow the filler to exit the packaging container.

In addition, uses for non-aseptic packages are known in which the pouring opening has no opening means in the form of cutting projections or the like for cutting through the film-type cover strip. In this case it is necessary to apply, in the area of the punched hole in the packing material web, a cover strip that is at least pre-weakened in order to permit manual opening or piercing of the cover strip after the lid of the pouring device has been removed.

In the prior art, the devices for punching the holes in the packing material web and for handling and applying the film-type cover strip are designed as separate devices. This means that the apparatus as a whole takes up a relatively large space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Proceeding from the stated prior art, the object of the invention is to develop an apparatus for handling a film-type cover strip on a packing material web for a packaging container in such a way that an especially compact structure of the apparatus is permitted. This object is achieved, according to the invention, by the fact that the three devices for forming the through-holes, for separating the section of cover strip and for connecting the cover strip to the packing material web are arranged at a common station, which has a frame on which the position of at least one of the three mentioned devices in relation to the packing material web can be changed. By arranging the three devices on a common frame and at a common station, an extremely compact structure of the apparatus is permitted.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention making it particularly easy to adapt the position of the three devices to the desired position of the hole that is to be punched or to the format of the packing material web, provision is made that the three devices are arranged on a common support element which is movable, on a linear guide arranged on the frame, transversely with respect to the feed direction of the endless packing material web that is fed, in particular intermittently, into the area of the three devices.

Of particular advantage is an embodiment in which the support element is coupled to a drive, and in which the drive can be controlled by a control device which detects positions of position marks on the packing material web by means of at least one sensor and, if the position marks deviate from a desired position, controls the drive accordingly. In this way, during the operation of the apparatus, a control of the apparatus is permitted that ensures that the hole in the packing material web and the cover strip are at all times arranged at the desired position.

In another embodiment of the invention, in which a packaging installation has a particularly high degree of efficiency, provision is made that the frame serves to receive two support elements with in each case three devices, and that the in each case three devices cooperate with in each case a separate packing material web. This means that the packaging installation produces and fills packaging containers in parallel operation, and a common frame serves to receive all the devices for both packing material webs.

In another embodiment of the invention, provision is made that a fourth device is provided for forming at least one opening or weakening in the cover strip in the area of the through-hole, and that the fourth device, seen in the feed direction of the packing material web, follows the second device and the third device, wherein the fourth device is likewise arranged on the support element. In non-aseptic applications, such a design of the apparatus makes it possible to weaken the cover strip and prepare it for the user in such a way that it is not necessary to use pouring openings with integrated tear-open aids.

It is particularly preferable if the fourth device for forming the opening or weakening in the cover strip and the first device for forming the hole in the packing material web are rigidly connected to each other. Such a design has the advantage that, when the position of the first device is adjusted according to the position for example of the position marks on the packing material web, the fourth device is moved too at the same time, such that the weakening of the cover strip always takes place at the same location in relation to the hole in the packing material web.

A particularly compact structure of the apparatus in the longitudinal direction of the packing material web is achieved if the second device comprises a transport device with which the cover strip, stored in the form of a roll, is fed transversely with respect to the feed direction of the packing material web.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantages, features and details of the invention will become clear from the following description of preferred illustrative embodiments and from the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the apparatus according to the invention for handling a film-type cover strip,

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a part of the apparatus according to FIG. 1 in the area where the cover strip is handled,

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a feeding and separating device for the cover strip, and

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of parts of a transport carriage for handling a separated section of a cover strip.

Identical structural parts, or structural parts that have an identical function, are provided with the same reference numbers in the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an apparatus 10 for handling a film-type cover strip 1 on a packing material web 2 for packaging containers. Here, packaging containers, particularly in the form of tubular bags, are produced from the endless packing material web 2 by means of a packaging installation (not shown in detail) and are filled in particular with a liquid filler and closed. The apparatus 10 is preferably used in a packaging installation of the kind set forth and described in the as yet unpublished document DE 10 2009 045 153 A1 from the Applicant. Thus, DE 10 2009 045 153 A1 is to this extent intended to form part of this application. In particular, this application also discloses using pouring devices for the packaging containers, which pouring devices are secured or arranged in the area of through-holes on the packaging container. The apparatus 10 according to the invention here serves for forming the through-holes and for closing the through-holes by means of the cover strips 1.

The apparatus 10 has a frame 11, which includes a transverse support 12. At the two opposite ends of the transverse support 12, the apparatus 10 has in each case an identically designed station 13 with a support element 14.

In the illustrative embodiment shown, the apparatus 10 serves for the simultaneous processing of two packing material webs 2 fed in parallel into the area of the apparatus 10, and therefore two stations 13 are provided. It is of course within the scope of the invention to modify the apparatus 10 such that it serves for processing only a single packing material web 2. In this case, the apparatus 10 has just a single station 13.

A first device 20 for forming the through-holes in the packing material web 2 is arranged at the station 13. The first device 20 comprises a punch 21 which is arranged to move up and down, in particular pneumatically, and which cooperates with a matching abutment element (not shown) arranged on the opposite side of the packing material web 2 from the punch 21. The punch 21 generates through-holes, in particular round through-holes, in the packing material web 2 at uniform intervals in relation to the feed direction, designated by reference number 16 in FIG. 1, of the two packing material webs 2. Moreover, the two packing material webs 2 are fed intermittently into the area of the apparatus 10 by means of conveyor devices (not shown).

The station 13 further comprises a second device 25 (shown in detail particularly in FIG. 3) for separating in each case a section of defined length of the cover strip 1 stored as an endless roll 4. For this purpose, the second device 25, as can be seen particularly in FIG. 3, has a block-shaped element 26, which has a separating blade 27 that can be actuated in particular pneumatically and that can be moved up and down. In the position shown in FIG. 3, the separating blade 27 is shown in its raised state, in which it is arranged above an outlet slit 28 on a plate 29 of the block-shaped element 26. The cover strip 1 (not shown in FIG. 3) is pulled off from the roll 4 by a servo drive 30, in each case by a defined length, such that the pulled-off section of the cover strip 1 protrudes from the outlet slit 28 in the stationary phase of the servo drive 30 and can be separated from the roll 4 by means of the separating blade 27 being driven down. For this purpose, the second device 25 also has a transport carriage 33 (shown in detail in FIG. 4), which has a plate-shaped carriage 35 driven pneumatically in the direction of the double arrow 34.

On its top face, the carriage 35 has holes 36 which are operatively connected to a vacuum source (not shown) via an attachment piece 37. To separate a section of the cover strip 1 from the roll 4, the carriage 35, in the position shown in FIG. 4, is arranged directly in the area of the separating blade 27 such that, by activation of the vacuum source, the section of the cover strip 1 protruding from the outlet slit 28 is positioned and held on the carriage 35. After the corresponding section of the cover strip 1 has been cut off by means of the separating blade 27, the carriage 35 is moved transversely into the area of its intended position above the through-hole in the packing material web 2. This position is preferably reached at the latest when the packing material web 2 is located in the apparatus 10 in a stationary phase. In this position, the carriage 35 is aligned with a third device 40 of the station 13.

The third device 40 here serves for securing, in particular for heat-sealing, the separated cover strip 1 on the top face of the packing material web 2 that later forms the inside of the packaging container. For this purpose, the third device 40 has an upwardly and downwardly movable sealing jaw 41 whose underside, operatively connected to the cover strip 1, has holes that are connected to a vacuum source, which positions the separated area of the cover strip 1 on the underside of the sealing jaw 41.

Moreover, the station 13 optionally comprises a fourth device 45 which serves to form a weakening, e.g. in the form of a perforation or scratch or in the form of one or more holes, in the cover strip 1, after the latter is already connected to the packing material web 2. For this purpose, the fourth device 45 is arranged on that side of the third device 40 opposite the first device 20. The fourth device 45 comprises an arc-shaped housing 46 with a continuous slit 47 through which the packing material web 2 is fed. A punching, perforating or scratching die (not shown in the figures) is arranged on the housing 46 and can be driven up and down by means of a pneumatic unit 48.

The support element 14, which supports the four devices 20, 25, 40 and 45, can be moved transversely with respect to the feed direction of the packing material web 2 on a linear guide 52 on the frame 11 of the apparatus 10. This mobility or positioning of the station 13 ensures that the through-holes and the cover strips 1 in the area of the packing material web 2 are at all times arranged at a defined edge distance from the packing material web 2. The exact position of the packing material web 2 in relation to the station 13 is detected by means of a sensor 53 (shown only symbolically in FIG. 1), which detects position marks 5 arranged at uniform intervals on the packing material web 2 and supplies these as input values to a control device 55 of the apparatus 10. If the position of the position marks 5 deviates from a desired position, a drive (not shown in detail) for the support element 14 is triggered by means of the control device 55 and moves the support element 14, and therefore the station 13, on the linear guide 52 transversely with respect to the packing material web 2, in order to position the station 13 at a defined distance from the longitudinal edge of the packing material web 2.

Whereas the second device 25 and the third device 40, seen in the feed direction of the packing material web 2, are arranged in a fixed position on the frame 11 or the support element 14, the first device 20 and the fourth device 45 are arranged movably in the feed direction of the packing material web 2. For this purpose, the first device 20 and the fourth device 45 are connected rigidly to each other by means of a longitudinal support 56, and the longitudinal support 56 is arranged on a guide which is adjustable in the feed direction 16 of the packing material web 2 by means of a longitudinal adjustment drive 57. The longitudinal adjustment drive 57 is controlled according to the position of the position marks 5 that has been detected by the sensor 53 or else by means of another sensor not shown.

The apparatus 10 described thus far works in the following way: By means of the conveyor device (not shown) for the packing material web 2, the latter is fed intermittently into the area of the apparatus 10. Preferably during the delivery phase of the packing material web 2, a section of defined length of the cover strip 1 is pulled off from the roll 4 by means of the servo motor 30 of the second device 25 and is separated by means of the separating blade 27. The separated cover strip 1 is then brought by means of the carriage 35 to lie congruent with the position of the through-hole that has been formed in the packing material web 2 by means of the first device 20 during a preceding stationary phase. As soon as the through-hole of the packing material web 2 is congruent with the separated cover strip 1 during the stationary phase of the conveyor device, the cover strip 1, transferred beforehand from the carriage 35 to the vacuum-assisted sealing jaw 41, is connected to the packing material web 2 by means of the cover strip 1 being lowered and pressed on. Heat sealing preferably takes place here between the cover strip 1 and the packing material web 2. The packing material web 2, with the sealed-on cover strip 1, is then fed onward. During the next stationary phase, the cover strip 1 can be provided with the described weakening in the area of the through-hole by means of the optionally provided fourth device 45.

It will further be noted that the separation of the cover strips 1, and their delivery to the area in which the cover strip 1 is then connected to the packing material web 2, preferably takes place during the delivery phase of the packing material web 2, such that the performance of the apparatus 10 is optimized.

The apparatus 10 described thus far can be modified in many ways without departing from the concept of the invention. 

1. An apparatus (10) for handling a film-type cover strip (1) on a packing material web (2) for a packaging container, the apparatus comprising a first device (20) for forming a through-hole in the packing material web (2), a second device (25) for separating a section of the cover strip (1), and a third device (40) for connecting the separated section of the cover strip (1) to the packing material web (2) in an area of the through-hole, wherein the section of the separated cover strip (1) covers the through-hole, characterized in that the three devices (20, 25, 40) are arranged at a common station (13), which has a frame (11) on which the position of at least one of the three devices (20, 25, 40) in relation to the packing material web (2) can be changed.
 2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the three devices (20, 25, 40) are arranged on a common support element (14) which is movable, on a linear guide (52) arranged on the frame (11), transversely with respect to a feed direction (16) of the endless packing material web (2) that is fed, into an area of the three devices (20, 25, 40).
 3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the support element (14) is coupled to a drive, and in that the drive can be controlled by a control device (55) which detects positions of position marks (5) on the packing material web (2) by means of at least one sensor (53) and, if the position marks (5) deviate from a desired position, controls the drive accordingly.
 4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , characterized in that the frame (11) receives two support elements (14), each support element (14) supporting a respective set of the three devices (20, 25, 40), and in that each set of the three devices (20, 25, 40) cooperates with a separate packing material web (2).
 5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the second device (25) and the third device (40), as viewed in the feed direction (16) of the packing material web (2), are arranged in a fixed position on the support element (14), in that the first device (20), as viewed in the feed direction (16) of the packing material web (2), is arranged movably on the support element (14), and in that the first device (20) is coupled to a further drive (57), which can be controlled by a control device (55) which detects positions of position marks (5) on the packing material web (2) using at least one sensor (53) and, if the position marks (5) deviate from a desired position, controls the further drive (57) accordingly, such that a distance of the second device (25) and the third device (40) from the first device (20) changes.
 6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that a fourth device (45) is provided for forming at least one opening or weakening in the cover strip (1) in an area of the through-hole, and in that the fourth device (45), as viewed in the feed direction (16) of the packing material web (2), follows the second device (25) and the third device (40), wherein the fourth device (45) is likewise arranged on the support element (14).
 7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the fourth device (45) and the first device (20) are rigidly connected to each other.
 8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the second device (25) comprises a transport device (30) with which the cover strip (1), stored in the form of a roll (4), is fed transversely with respect to a feed direction (16) of the packing material web (2).
 9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the transport device (30) cooperates with a vacuum-assisted carriage element (35), with which the section of the cover strip (1) to be separated is held in an area of a cutting device (27) and is then fed into an area of the third device (40).
 10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the third device (40) is a heat sealing device.
 11. The apparatus of claim 2, characterized in that the packing material web (2) is fed intermittently into the area of the three devices (20, 25, 40). 